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Opening of New World Papakura brings fourth new Foodstuffs North Island store in four months

It’s one of the fastest-growing parts of the country, and now it has a new supermarket too, with the newly-built New World Papakura set to open its doors next week.

The new store, built just 100 metres up the road from the old one, on East Street in Papakura’s CBD, will be officially opened on Tuesday, 6 December 2016, at 8.15am.

To mark the occasion there will be kapa haka performances, free coffees until 11.30am, and a chance for shoppers to enter the draw to win one of five prizes of $1000 of groceries a week until Christmas.

Peter Lynch, Owner-Operator of New World Papakura, says after nine months of construction it’s “very exciting” to be on the verge of opening the new building up to the community.

“The new store brings more choice, great prices and the same quality personal service our customers expect and deserve,” Lynch says. “And having it just up the road from the old store means it’s just a few extra steps for an even better shopping experience.”

The new store has a retail area of 1,615m² – nearly double that of the old store – while the total premises is just over a hectare in area, and includes 152 carparks.

“Everything has been designed with customer convenience in mind: more carparks, wider aisles, way bigger range in fresh foods, and more checkouts, including self-serve, to make shopping quicker.”

Dozens of new jobs have been created, too, with up to 45 more staff depending on the time of year, who’ll be joining the current team of 90.

“It’s great to be able to bring some new people in to bolster our team, which includes some of the best bakers and butchers in town.”

The new store is also more eco-friendly, with features such as the CO2 refrigeration, energy efficient lighting and rain water harvesting systems.

“Sustainability is a major focus for us. As well as providing a soft plastics recycling bin at the front of our store, we’ll continue to offer New World’s discount for those who bring their own reusable bags. We are also aiming to divert at least 80 percent of our waste away from landfill.”

Lindsay Rowles, General Manager of Property Development, Foodstuffs North Island Ltd, says it’s the fourth store the company has opened in as many months.

“The others were New World Te Kuiti, PAK'nSAVE Tamatea in Napier, and PAK'nSAVE Tauriko in Tauranga. Their total cost exceeds $80 million, and their geographic spread underscores our commitment to bringing modern supermarkets to all parts of the North Island.”

Lynch adds that with Papakura having one of the fastest-growing populations in the country – at an estimated average of around two percent per year – his new store is well-placed to serve the community and surrounding areas over the coming decades.

“We’ve already got 34 years under our belt of serving the local and wider community, and now I’m confident we’ll be here for at least 34 more, bringing shoppers quality food, great service and an enjoyable shopping experience.”